Gate operating mechanism



May 22, 1934. c. P. GALANOT GATE OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 5, 1950 INVENTOR Patented May 22, 1934 UNlE PATENT OFFIE to The Commercial Shearing and Stamping Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 5, 1930, Serial No. 479,868

3 Claims.

My invention relates to vehicles having tiltable dumping bodies with hinged gates and, in particular, to a mechanism for operating the gates as the body is tilted.

Among the desirable features of a gate operating mechanism for a tilting body are mechanical simplicity, adjustability, durability, and certainty of operation. I have invented a gate operating mechanism which fulfills all these requirements.

According to the invention, a down-folding gate is pivoted to a tilting body mounted on a vehicle frame. The frame carries a relatively fixed casting having a recess or pivot formed therein. An operating link is eccentrically pivoted tothe gate and has one end formed for engagement with said recess. I he recess is formed in an adjustable portion of the casting sothat proper provision may be made to insure that the gate is fully closed when the body is in its normal lowered position. As the vehicle body is tilted toward the dumping position, the movement of the gate With the body permits the gate to fall open of its own weight, movement of the gate being restrained by the engagement of the link with said recess. A desirable result flowing from this construction is that the gate is opened wide as soon as the body has tilted slightly and remains fully open during the rest of the travel of the body. This operation permits free discharge of the contents of the body and insures that the gate will be in its lowest or wide open position before any considerable portion of the load starts to move. When the body is in its final dumping position, the gate is wide open. As the gate body is lowered, the link forces the gate to swing around its pivot and return to its normal position.

For a complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a partial side elevation showing a present preferred embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the invention is illustrated as applied to a vehicle such as a truck, wagon, or railway car (not shown). A portion of the vehicle frame is illustrated at 10. The frame supports a casting 11. A tilting body 12 is supported on brackets, one of which is shown at 13. The brackets 13 are pivoted to the casting 11 by pins 14. The body 12 is built up of steel sheets 15 on a frame of 2 bars 16 to which the brackets 13 are secured by the bolts 1'7.

The bracket 13 carries a bearing for a pivot pin 18 adjacent its upper end. A down-folding gate 19 for the body 12 is pivoted on the pin 18 and has a downward projection 20 which serves as a reinforcing rib and as part of the gate operating mechanism. An eccentric pivot 21 is journaled in the lower end of the extension 20, and a link 22 is pivoted to the gate 20 on the pin 21. A socket member 23 in the form of a casting having a recess or pocket 24 therein is pivoted to the casting 11 on a pin 25. A bearing pin 26 and an adjustment screw 27 for cooperating therewith, provide lateral support for the pivoted casting or socket member 23. The free end of the link 22 is rounded to fit within the recess 24.

When the body 12 is in its normal horizontal position, the socket member 23 is adjusted by means of the screw 27 so that the gate 19 is maintained in the fully closed position by the engagement of the free end of the link 22 with the socket 24. When the body 12 is tilted about its dumping axis 14 by well known tilting mechanism, (not shown), the bracket 13 swings outward carrying with it the gate 19. As soon as the body 12 moves from the horizontal position, the weight of the gate 19 tends to open it, but movement of the gate is restrained by the link 22. The gate 19 is thus opened gradually as the body 12 tilts toward the dumping position. The body and gate are shown in an intermediate position in chain lines in Figure 1. The socket member 23 remains relatively stationary and the movement of the gate 19 as it is swung on the body 12 about the pivot pin 14 permits the gate to swing downwardly to the position shown. When the dumping operation has been completed and the body is restored to normal, the link 22 serves as a crank to force the gate 19 back to its closed position.

It will be noted that the construction described is characterized by mechanical simplicity and a small number of working parts. The mechanism is thus not likely to get out of order or require much maintenance. The adjustability provided by the pin 26 and the screw 2"! makes it possible to insure that the gate will be fully closed when the body is in horizontal position. Since the construction is made up of castings, they may be provided with suitable reinforcing ribs and flanges to provide the required rigidity and mechanical strength necessary for supporting loads to which a vehicle of this type is usually subjected. The gate operating mechanism described is characterized by the advantageous fact that the gate is opened wide in the first few degrees of tilting movement of the body. The gate remains open throughout the rest of the body travel so that discharge of the load is not interfered with.

Although I have illustrated and described but a single preferred embodiment of the invention, it may be practiced in other forms with equal success, and for that reason, any changes in the embodiment described may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a dump vehicle gate-operating mechanism, the combination with a vehicle frame, a member pivoted to the vehicle frame, having a recess therein offset from the pivotal axis, and a tilting body on said frame, of a gate pivoted to the tilting body of the vehicle, and a link having one end journaled in said gate and the other end free and rounded to seat pivotally in said oifset recess and means for effecting pivotal adjustment of said member.

2. In a vehicle body including a stationary frame and a body box tiltable thereon having a dumping gate pivoted thereto, a member pivoted on said frame having a pocket opening toward said gate, an actuating link pivoted at one end to said gate, the other end of the link being seated in said pocket, and a pin adjustably supported in said frame for backing up said pivoted member.

3. In a mechanism for operating a gate on a tilting body, a frame casting, a member pivoted thereon having a pocket opening toward the gate to receive a gate operating link, a pin extending through the casting for backing up the member, and means for adjusting the pin transversely of its axis.

CAMILLE P. GALANOT. 

